Remodel Your Physique

Remodel Your Physique

You already know how satisfying it is to revamp your home, but did you know you're bettering your body while you're at it? Many home-improvement jobs require both cardiovascular activity—the form of exercise that torches the most calories—and strength-building for lean, healthy muscle. But exactly how many calories is your sweat equity worth? We came up with the answer for the 15 common jobs, thanks to this activity calculator (and based on a 175-pound adult). Whether you're hauling heavy lumber or merely fixing a squeaky door, your next DIY job will remodel your physique, too.

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1. Paint a Room

1. Paint a Room

Calories burned per hour: 357From brightening up your bathroom to giving the exterior of your house a new hue, the squatting, stretching, reaching, and pressing required to wield a paint roller strengthens all your major muscle groups, especially those in your thighs, core, and shoulders.

3. Build Cabinets

3. Build Cabinets

Calories burned per hour: 238–595You can build a new upper body with your own two hands, too. Unless you're the boss, carpentry work requires hauling lumber, swinging a hammer, and installing your finished product—all activities that tighten and tone your arms and back. Give the table saw a rest and cut the wood by hand to maximize the calorie burn.

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4. Fix All Those Little Annoyances

4. Fix All Those Little Annoyances

Calories burned per hour: 119Even the pesky projects you keep putting off can provide a body benefit. Light hand-tool work, such as changing doorknobs, hanging artwork, and fixing a leaky faucet, help melt away pounds by keeping you actively on your feet.

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5. Remove and Install Carpet

5. Remove and Install Carpet

Calories burned per hour: 357Ripping out old carpet and rolling in the new simultaneously works up a sweat and uses muscle, like circuit training at the gym. But since much of this work keeps you on the ground, take a few moments at least once to stretch your hardworking legs and back. Stand with your right leg crossed over your left and the outside of your feet together, and bend forward with your rear knee straight. Hold the stretch for 15 to 30 seconds, then cross your left leg over your right and repeat.

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6. Build a Fence

6. Build a Fence

Calories burned per hour: 476Setting fence is a grueling job—just ask anyone who's ever wielded a posthole digger or used a breaker bar to pry out rocks. The relentless rhythm of this project gives your arms, back, and shoulders a thorough workout. And if you're mixing cement to stabilize the fence, you'll burn 556 calories per hour doing that project alone.

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7. Haul Lumber

7. Haul Lumber

Calories burned per hour: 397–635Heavy lifting is a body-buffing no-brainer. Your biceps, triceps, and shoulders work overtime, and your quads and calves will benefit from the extra weight you're carrying around. Tackling projects in the attic or basement? Climbing stairs boosts the burn by more than 200 calories per hour.

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8. Clean Out the Garage

8. Clean Out the Garage

Calories burned per hour: 397This organizing project requires a lot of heavy lifting and walking, a good balance of overall cardiovascular exercise and total-body strength training. And you never know—you may even unearth that old treadmill you've stored in there for years.

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9. Clear the Rain Gutters

9. Clear the Rain Gutters

Calories burned per hour: 397Climbing up and down a ladder strengthens calf muscles and hamstrings, and the balance it requires engages and tightens your core's stabilizer muscles. Notice some loose shingles while you're up there? Roofing work torches a whopping 476 calories per hour.

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10. Dig a Garden Bed

10. Dig a Garden Bed

Calories burned per hour: 379Shoveling dirt benefits your body in two ways: Breaking a sweat is a heart-healthy cardiovascular activity, and unearthing and handling heavy dirt builds up arm, shoulder, and thigh muscles. The same is true for other shovel-ready yard projects, like digging irrigation ditches and planting trees.

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11. Cultivate Your Garden

11. Cultivate Your Garden

Calories burned per hour: 357Reaping what you sow brings more to your table than vegetables and fresh flowers. Carrying watering cans, bags of mulch, and yard tools strengthens biceps, and squatting and lunging to plant or harvest tones hamstrings and quads.

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12. Tend Your Lawn

12. Tend Your Lawn

Calories burned per hour: 476A riding mower may be faster, but you won't break a sweat quite like you do when using a push mower. Powered edgers are heavy to hold, so all the upper body muscles are engaged, while the repetition of using hand clippers targets your forearms. When the mercury soars, keep in mind that thirst is a sign that your body is already dehydrated. Stop to drink water well before you even think you need it (not to mention before and after the project).

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13. Lay Sod

13. Lay Sod

Calories burned per hour: 397Wet grass and dirt is unwieldy dead weight, so laying a carpet of green lawn requires a lot of heavy lifting. And you'll be alternating between standing and sitting, which puts your quadriceps to the test. If you use a rototiller to prep your soil before laying the sod, you'll burn an impressive 476 calories per hour.

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14. Hang Drywall

14. Hang Drywall

Calories burned per hour: 238Considering that this material is made of rock, hanging sheets of it quickly becomes a highly physical ballet. Electric drills may be faster, but hand drills are more precise and require extra arm power.

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15. Rewire Your Electrical System

15. Rewire Your Electrical System

Calories burned per hour: 238Electrical work requires more than just mental muscle. Depending on where you are rewiring, you may be up and down on a ladder, holding your arms over your head, or repeatedly squatting and standing to work on lower areas near the floor.

Remodel Your Physique

You already know how satisfying it is to revamp your home, but did you know you're bettering your body while you're at it? Many home-improvement jobs require both cardiovascular activity—the form of exercise that torches the most calories—and strength-building for lean, healthy muscle. But exactly how many calories is your sweat equity worth? We came up with the answer for the 15 common jobs, thanks to this activity calculator (and based on a 175-pound adult). Whether you're hauling heavy lumber or merely fixing a squeaky door, your next DIY job will remodel your physique, too.

1. Paint a Room

Calories burned per hour: 357From brightening up your bathroom to giving the exterior of your house a new hue, the squatting, stretching, reaching, and pressing required to wield a paint roller strengthens all your major muscle groups, especially those in your thighs, core, and shoulders.

3. Build Cabinets

Calories burned per hour: 238–595You can build a new upper body with your own two hands, too. Unless you're the boss, carpentry work requires hauling lumber, swinging a hammer, and installing your finished product—all activities that tighten and tone your arms and back. Give the table saw a rest and cut the wood by hand to maximize the calorie burn.

4. Fix All Those Little Annoyances

Calories burned per hour: 119Even the pesky projects you keep putting off can provide a body benefit. Light hand-tool work, such as changing doorknobs, hanging artwork, and fixing a leaky faucet, help melt away pounds by keeping you actively on your feet.

5. Remove and Install Carpet

Calories burned per hour: 357Ripping out old carpet and rolling in the new simultaneously works up a sweat and uses muscle, like circuit training at the gym. But since much of this work keeps you on the ground, take a few moments at least once to stretch your hardworking legs and back. Stand with your right leg crossed over your left and the outside of your feet together, and bend forward with your rear knee straight. Hold the stretch for 15 to 30 seconds, then cross your left leg over your right and repeat.

6. Build a Fence

Calories burned per hour: 476Setting fence is a grueling job—just ask anyone who's ever wielded a posthole digger or used a breaker bar to pry out rocks. The relentless rhythm of this project gives your arms, back, and shoulders a thorough workout. And if you're mixing cement to stabilize the fence, you'll burn 556 calories per hour doing that project alone.

7. Haul Lumber

Calories burned per hour: 397–635Heavy lifting is a body-buffing no-brainer. Your biceps, triceps, and shoulders work overtime, and your quads and calves will benefit from the extra weight you're carrying around. Tackling projects in the attic or basement? Climbing stairs boosts the burn by more than 200 calories per hour.

8. Clean Out the Garage

Calories burned per hour: 397This organizing project requires a lot of heavy lifting and walking, a good balance of overall cardiovascular exercise and total-body strength training. And you never know—you may even unearth that old treadmill you've stored in there for years.

9. Clear the Rain Gutters

Calories burned per hour: 397Climbing up and down a ladder strengthens calf muscles and hamstrings, and the balance it requires engages and tightens your core's stabilizer muscles. Notice some loose shingles while you're up there? Roofing work torches a whopping 476 calories per hour.

10. Dig a Garden Bed

Calories burned per hour: 379Shoveling dirt benefits your body in two ways: Breaking a sweat is a heart-healthy cardiovascular activity, and unearthing and handling heavy dirt builds up arm, shoulder, and thigh muscles. The same is true for other shovel-ready yard projects, like digging irrigation ditches and planting trees.

11. Cultivate Your Garden

Calories burned per hour: 357Reaping what you sow brings more to your table than vegetables and fresh flowers. Carrying watering cans, bags of mulch, and yard tools strengthens biceps, and squatting and lunging to plant or harvest tones hamstrings and quads.

12. Tend Your Lawn

Calories burned per hour: 476A riding mower may be faster, but you won't break a sweat quite like you do when using a push mower. Powered edgers are heavy to hold, so all the upper body muscles are engaged, while the repetition of using hand clippers targets your forearms. When the mercury soars, keep in mind that thirst is a sign that your body is already dehydrated. Stop to drink water well before you even think you need it (not to mention before and after the project).

13. Lay Sod

Calories burned per hour: 397Wet grass and dirt is unwieldy dead weight, so laying a carpet of green lawn requires a lot of heavy lifting. And you'll be alternating between standing and sitting, which puts your quadriceps to the test. If you use a rototiller to prep your soil before laying the sod, you'll burn an impressive 476 calories per hour.

14. Hang Drywall

Calories burned per hour: 238Considering that this material is made of rock, hanging sheets of it quickly becomes a highly physical ballet. Electric drills may be faster, but hand drills are more precise and require extra arm power.

15. Rewire Your Electrical System

Calories burned per hour: 238Electrical work requires more than just mental muscle. Depending on where you are rewiring, you may be up and down on a ladder, holding your arms over your head, or repeatedly squatting and standing to work on lower areas near the floor.